"AT that time shall Michael stand up,
the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time
of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that
time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the
book." Daniel 12:1.

When the third angel's
message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people
of God have accomplished their work. They have received "the latter rain,"
"the refreshing from the presence of the Lord," and they are prepared for the
trying hour before them. Angels are hastening to and fro in heaven. An angel returning
from the earth announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought upon the
world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received
"the seal of the living God." Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the
sanctuary above. He lifts His hands and with a loud voice says, "It is done;"
and all the angelic host lay off their crowns as He makes the solemn announcement:
"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be
filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy,
let him be holy still." Revelation 22:11. Every case has been decided for life or
death. Christ has made the atonement for His people and blotted out their sins. The number
of His subjects is made up; "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven," is about to be given to the heirs of salvation, and
Jesus is to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

When He leaves the sanctuary,
darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that fearful time the righteous must live
in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. The restraint which has been upon the
wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God's
long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and
trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit
of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace,
they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the
earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the
fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole
world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old.

A single angel destroyed all
the first-born of the Egyptians and filled the land with mourning. When David offended
against God by numbering the people, one angel caused that terrible destruction by which
his sin was punished. The same destructive power exercised by holy angels when God
commands, will be exercised by evil angels when He permits. There are forces now ready,
and only waiting the divine permission, to spread desolation everywhere.

Satan Will Excite
To Still Greater Intensity

The Spirit Of
Hatred And Persecution

Those who honor the law of God have been
accused of bringing judgments upon the world, and they will be regarded as the cause of
the fearful convulsions of nature and the strife and bloodshed among men that are filling
the earth with woe. The power attending the last warning has enraged the wicked; their
anger is kindled against all who have received the message, and Satan will excite to still
greater intensity the spirit of hatred and persecution.

When God's presence was
finally withdrawn from the Jewish nation, priests and people knew it not. Though under the
control of Satan, and swayed by the most horrible and malignant passions, they still
regarded themselves as the chosen of God. The ministration in the temple continued;
sacrifices were offered upon its polluted altars, and daily the divine blessing was
invoked upon a people guilty of the blood of God's dear Son and seeking to slay His
ministers and apostles. So when the irrevocable decision of the sanctuary has been
pronounced and the destiny of the world has been forever fixed, the inhabitants of the
earth will know it not. The forms of religion will be continued by a people from whom the
Spirit of God has been finally withdrawn; and the satanic zeal with which the prince of
evil will inspire them for the accomplishment of his malignant designs, will bear the
semblance of zeal for God.

As the Sabbath has become the
special point of controversy throughout Christendom, and religious and secular authorities
have combined to enforce the observance of the Sunday, the persistent refusal of a small
minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration. It
will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and a
law of the state ought not to be tolerated; that it is better for them to suffer than for
whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. The same argument eighteen
hundred years ago was brought against Christ by the "rulers of the people."
"It is expedient for us," said the wily Caiaphas, "that one man should die
for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." John 11:50. This argument will
appear conclusive; and a decree will finally be issued against those who hallow the
Sabbath of the fourth commandment, denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment
and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to death. Romanism in the
Old World and apostate Protestantism in the New will pursue a similar course toward those
who honor all the divine precepts.

The Time Of Jacob's
Trouble

The people of God will then be plunged into
those scenes of affliction and distress described by the prophet as the time of Jacob's
trouble. "Thus saith the Lord: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not
of peace. . . . All faces are turned into paleness. Alas! for that day is great, so that
none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of
it." Jeremiah 30:5-7.

Jacob's night of anguish,
when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance from the hand of Esau (Genesis 32:24-30),
represents the experience of God's people in the time of trouble. Because of the deception
practiced to secure his father's blessing, intended for Esau, Jacob had fled for his life,
alarmed by his brother's deadly threats. After remaining for many years an exile, he had
set out, at God's command, to return with his wives and children, his flocks and herds, to
his native country. On reaching the borders of the land, he was filled with terror by the
tidings of Esau's approach at the head of a band of warriors, doubtless bent upon revenge.
Jacob's company, unarmed and defenseless, seemed about to fall helpless victims of
violence and slaughter. And to the burden of anxiety and fear was added the crushing
weight of self-reproach, for it was his own sin that had brought this danger. His only
hope was in the mercy of God; his only defense must be prayer. Yet he leaves nothing
undone on his own part to atone for the wrong to his brother and to avert the threatened
danger. So should the followers of Christ, as they approach the time of trouble, make
every exertion to place themselves in a proper light before the people, to disarm
prejudice, and to avert the danger which threatens liberty of conscience.

Having sent his family away,
that they may not witness his distress, Jacob remains alone to intercede with God. He
confesses his sin and gratefully acknowledges the mercy of God toward him while with deep
humiliation he pleads the covenant made with his fathers and the promises to himself in
the night vision at Bethel and in the land of his exile. The crisis in his life has come;
everything is at stake. In the darkness and solitude he continues praying and humbling
himself before God. Suddenly a hand is laid upon his shoulder. He thinks that an enemy is
seeking his life, and with all the energy of despair he wrestles with his assailant. As
the day begins to break, the stranger puts forth his superhuman power; at his touch the
strong man seems paralyzed, and he falls, a helpless, weeping suppliant, upon the neck of
his mysterious antagonist. Jacob knows now that it is the Angel of the covenant with whom
he has been in conflict. Though disabled and suffering the keenest pain, he does not
relinquish his purpose. Long has he endured perplexity, remorse, and trouble for his sin;
now he must have the assurance that it is pardoned. The divine visitant seems about to
depart; but Jacob clings to Him, pleading for a blessing. The Angel urges, "Let Me
go, for the day breaketh;" but the patriarch exclaims, "I will not let Thee go,
except Thou bless me." What confidence, what firmness and perseverance, are here
displayed! Had this been a boastful, presumptuous claim, Jacob would have been instantly
destroyed; but his was the assurance of one who confesses his weakness and unworthiness,
yet trusts the mercy of a covenant-keeping God.

"He had power over the
Angel, and prevailed." Hosea 12:4. Through humiliation, repentance, and
self-surrender, this sinful, erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of heaven. He had
fastened his trembling grasp upon the promises of God, and the heart of Infinite Love
could not turn away the sinner's plea. As an evidence of his triumph and an encouragement
to others to imitate his example, his name was changed from one which was a reminder of
his sin, to one that commemorated his victory. And the fact that Jacob had prevailed with
God was an assurance that he would prevail with men. He no longer feared to encounter his
brother's anger, for the Lord was his defense.

Satan had accused Jacob
before the angels of God, claiming the right to destroy him because of his sin; he had
moved upon Esau to march against him; and during the patriarch's long night of wrestling,
Satan endeavored to force upon him a sense of his guilt in order to discourage him and
break his hold upon God. Jacob was driven almost to despair; but he knew that without help
from heaven he must perish. He had sincerely repented of his great sin, and he appealed to
the mercy of God. He would not be turned from his purpose, but held fast the Angel and
urged his petition with earnest, agonizing cries until he prevailed.

He [Satan] Will
Stir Up The Wicked

To Destroy God's
People In The Time Of Trouble

As Satan influenced Esau to march against
Jacob, so he will stir up the wicked to destroy God's people in the time of trouble. And
as he accused Jacob, he will urge his accusations against the people of God. He numbers
the world as his subjects; but the little company who keep the commandments of God are
resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be
complete. He sees that holy angels are guarding them, and he infers that their sins have
been pardoned; but he does not know that their cases have been decided in the sanctuary
above. He has an accurate knowledge of the sins which he has tempted them to commit, and
he presents these before God in the most exaggerated light, representing this people to be
just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor of God. He declares that the Lord
cannot in justice forgive their sins and yet destroy him and his angels. He claims them as
his prey and demands that they be given into his hands to destroy.

As Satan accuses the people
of God on account of their sins, the Lord permits him to try them to the uttermost. Their
confidence in God, their faith and firmness, will be severely tested. As they review the
past, their hopes sink for in their whole lives they can see little good. They are fully
conscious of their weakness and unworthiness. Satan endeavors to terrify them with the
thought that their cases are hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be
washed away. He hopes so to destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations
and turn from their allegiance to God.

Though God's people will be
surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they
suffer is not a dread of persecution for the truth's sake; they fear that every sin has
not been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they will fail to realize
the fulfillment of the Saviour's promise: I "will keep thee from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon all the world." Revelation 3:10. If they could have
the assurance of pardon they would not shrink from torture or death; but should they prove
unworthy, and lose their lives because of their own defects of character, then God's holy
name would be reproached.

On every hand they hear the
plottings of treason and see the active working of rebellion; and there is aroused within
them an intense desire, an earnest yearning of soul, that this great apostasy may be
terminated and the wickedness of the wicked may come to an end. But while they plead with
God to stay the work of rebellion, it is with a keen sense of self-reproach that they
themselves have no more power to resist and urge back the mighty tide of evil. They feel
that had they always employed all their ability in the service of Christ, going forward
from strength to strength, Satan's forces would have less power to prevail against them.

Their Faith Does
Not Fail

They afflict their souls before God,
pointing to their past repentance of their many sins, and pleading the Saviour's promise:
"Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make
peace with Me." Isaiah 27:5. Their faith does not fail because their prayers are not
immediately answered. Though suffering the keenest anxiety, terror, and distress, they do
not cease their intercessions. They lay hold of the strength of God as Jacob laid hold of
the Angel; and the language of their souls is: "I will not let Thee go, except Thou
bless me."

Had not Jacob previously
repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud, God would not have heard his
prayer and mercifully preserved his life. So, in the time of trouble, if the people of God
had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured with fear and anguish, they
would be overwhelmed; despair would cut off their faith, and they could not have
confidence to plead with God for deliverance. But while they have a deep sense of their
unworthiness, they have no concealed wrongs to reveal. Their sins have gone beforehand to
judgment and have been blotted out, and they cannot bring them to remembrance.

Satan leads many to believe
that God will overlook their unfaithfulness in the minor affairs of life; but the Lord
shows in His dealings with Jacob that He will in no wise sanction or tolerate evil. All
who endeavor to excuse or conceal their sins, and permit them to remain upon the books of
heaven, unconfessed and unforgiven, will be overcome by Satan. The more exalted their
profession and the more honorable the position which they hold, the more grievous is their
course in the sight of God and the more sure the triumph of their great adversary. Those
who delay a preparation for the day of God cannot obtain it in the time of trouble or at
any subsequent time. The case of all such is hopeless.

Those professed Christians
who come up to that last fearful conflict unprepared will, in their despair, confess their
sins in words of burning anguish, while the wicked exult over their distress. These
confessions are of the same character as was that of Esau or of Judas. Those who make
them, lament the result of transgression, but not its guilt. They no true contrition, no
abhorrence of evil. They acknowledge their sin, through fear of punishment; but, like
Pharaoh of old, they would return to their defiance of Heaven should the judgments be
removed.

Jacob's history is also an
assurance that God will not cast off those who have been deceived and tempted and betrayed
into sin, but who have returned unto Him with true repentance. While Satan seeks to
destroy this class, God will send His angels to comfort and protect them in the time of
peril. The assaults of Satan are fierce and determined, his delusions are terrible; but
the Lord's eye is upon His people, and His ear listens to their cries. Their affliction is
great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but the Refiner will bring
them forth as gold tried in the fire. God's love for His children during the period of
their severest trial is as strong and tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity;
but it is needful for them to be placed in the furnace of fire; their earthliness must be
consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected.

Wrestling With God
- How Few Know What It Is!

The season of distress and anguish before
us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger--a faith that will
not faint though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for
that time. Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His victory is an
evidence of the power of importunate prayer. All who will lay hold of God's promises, as
he did, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded. Those
who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for His
blessing, will not obtain it. Wrestling with God--how few know what it is! How few have
ever had their souls drawn out after God with intensity of desire until every power is on
the stretch. When waves of despair which no language can express sweep over the suppliant,
how few cling with unyielding faith to the promises of God. Those who exercise but little
faith now, are in the greatest danger of falling under the power of satanic delusions and
the decree to compel the conscience. And even if they endure the test they will be plunged
into deeper distress and anguish in the time of trouble, because they have never made it a
habit to trust in God. The lessons of faith which they have neglected they will be forced
to learn under a terrible pressure of discouragement.

We should now acquaint
ourselves with God by proving His promises. Angels record every prayer that is earnest and
sincere. We should rather dispense with selfish gratifications than neglect communion with
God. The deepest poverty, the greatest self-denial, with His approval, is better than
riches, honors, ease, and friendship without it. We must take time to pray. If we allow
our minds to be absorbed by worldly interests, the Lord may give us time by removing from
us our idols of gold, of houses, or of fertile lands.

The young would not be
seduced into sin if they would refuse to enter any path save that upon which they could
ask God's blessing. If the messengers who bear the last solemn warning to the world would
pray for the blessing of God, not in a cold, listless, lazy manner, but fervently and in
faith, as did Jacob, they would find many places where they could say: "I have seen
God face to face, and my life is preserved." Genesis 32:30. They would be accounted
of heaven as princes, having power to prevail with God and with men.

The "time of trouble,
such as never was," is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we
do not now possess and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that
trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis
before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that
time of trial, every soul must stand for himself before God. "Though Noah, Daniel,
and Job" were in the land, "as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver
neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their
righteousness." Ezekiel 14:20.

Now, while our great High
Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ. Not
even by a thought could our Saviour be brought to yield to the power of temptation. Satan
finds in human hearts some point where he can gain a foothold; some sinful desire is
cherished, by means of which his temptations assert their power. But Christ declared of
Himself: "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me." John 14:30.
Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain the victory. He
had kept His Father's commandments, and there was no sin in Him that Satan could use to
his advantage. This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the
time of trouble.

It Is In This Life
That We

Are To Separate Sin
From Us

It is in this life that we are to separate
sin from us, through faith in the atoning blood of Christ. Our precious Saviour invites us
to join ourselves to Him, to unite our weakness to His strength, our ignorance to His
wisdom, our unworthiness to His merits. God's providence is the school in which we are to
learn the meekness and lowliness of Jesus. The Lord is ever setting before us, not the way
we would choose, which seems easier and pleasanter to us, but the true aims of life. It
rests with us to co-operate with the agencies which Heaven employs in the work of
conforming our characters to the divine model. None can neglect or defer this work but at
the most fearful peril to their souls.

The apostle John in vision
heard a loud voice in heaven exclaiming: "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of
the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that
he hath but a short time." Revelation 12:12. Fearful are the scenes which call forth
this exclamation from the heavenly voice. The wrath of Satan increases as his time grows
short, and his work of deceit and destruction will reach its culmination in the time of
trouble.

Fearful sights of a
supernatural character will soon be revealed in the heavens, in token of the power of
miracle-working demons. The spirits of devils will go forth to the kings of the earth and
to the whole world, to fasten them in deception, and urge them on to unite with Satan in
his last struggle against the government of heaven. By these agencies, rulers and subjects
will be alike deceived. Persons will arise pretending to be Christ Himself, and claiming
the title and worship which belong to the world's Redeemer. They will perform wonderful
miracles of healing and will profess to have revelations from heaven contradicting the
testimony of the Scriptures.

As the crowning act in the
great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long
professed to look to the Saviour's advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great
deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan
will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the
description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. Revelation 1:13-15. The
glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld. The
shout of triumph rings out upon the air: "Christ has come! Christ has come!" The
people prostrate themselves in adoration before him, while he lifts up his hands and
pronounces a blessing upon them, as Christ blessed His disciples when He was upon the
earth. His voice is soft and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones
he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals
the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to
have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has
blessed. He declares that those who persist in keeping holy the seventh day are
blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his angels sent to them with light and
truth. This is the strong, almost overmastering delusion. Like the Samaritans were
deceived by Simon Magus, the multitudes, from the least to the greatest, give heed to
these sorceries, saying: This is "the great power of God." Acts 8:10.

The People Of God
Will Not Be Misled

But the people of God will not be misled.
The teachings of this false christ are not in accordance with the Scriptures. His blessing
is pronounced upon the worshipers of the beast and his image, the very class upon whom the
Bible declares that God's unmingled wrath shall be poured out.

And, furthermore, Satan is
not permitted to counterfeit the manner of Christ's advent. The Saviour has warned His
people against deception upon this point, and has clearly foretold the manner of His
second coming. "There shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect. . . . Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not
forth; behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh
out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be." Matthew 24:24-27, 31; 25:31; Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. This
coming there is no possibility of counterfeiting. It will be universally known--witnessed
by the whole world.

Only those who have been
diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be
shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony
these will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all the testing time will come. By the
sifting of temptation the genuine Christian will be revealed. Are the people of God now so
firmly established upon His word that they would not yield to the evidence of their
senses? Would they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible and the Bible only? Satan will,
if possible, prevent them from obtaining a preparation to stand in that day. He will so
arrange affairs as to hedge up their way, entangle them with earthly treasures, cause them
to carry a heavy, wearisome burden, that their hearts may be overcharged with the cares of
this life and the day of trial may come upon them as a thief.

As the decree issued by the
various rulers of Christendom against commandment keepers shall withdraw the protection of
government and abandon them to those who desire their destruction, the people of God will
flee from the cities and villages and associate together in companies, dwelling in the
most desolate and solitary places. Many will find refuge in the strongholds of the
mountains. Like the Christians of the Piedmont valleys, they will make the high places of
the earth their sanctuaries and will thank God for "the munitions of rocks."
Isaiah 33:16. But many of all nations and of all classes, high and low, rich and poor,
black and white, will be cast into the most unjust and cruel bondage. The beloved of God
pass weary days, bound in chains, shut in by prison bars, sentenced to be slain, some
apparently left to die of starvation in dark and loathsome dungeons. No human ear is open
to hear their moans; no human hand is ready to lend them help.

Will the Lord forget His
people in this trying hour? Did He forget faithful Noah when judgments were visited upon
the antediluvian world? Did He forget Lot when the fire came down from heaven to consume
the cities of the plain? Did He forget Joseph surrounded by idolaters in Egypt? Did He
forget Elijah when the oath of Jezebel threatened him with the fate of the prophets of
Baal? Did He forget Jeremiah in the dark and dismal pit of his prison house? Did He forget
the three worthies in the fiery furnace? or Daniel in the den of lions?

Behold, I Have
Graven Thee

Upon The Palms Of
My Hands

"Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me,
and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not
have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands." Isaiah 49:14-16. The Lord
hosts has said: "He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye." Zechariah
2:8.

Though enemies may thrust
them into prison, yet dungeon walls cannot cut off the communication between their souls
and Christ. One who sees their every weakness, who is acquainted with every trial, is
above all earthly powers; and angels will come to them in lonely cells, bringing light and
peace from heaven. The prison will be as a palace; for the rich in faith dwell there, and
the gloomy walls will be lighted up with heavenly light as when Paul and Silas prayed and
sang praises at midnight in the Philippian dungeon.

God's judgments will be
visited upon those who are seeking to oppress and destroy His people. His long forbearance
with the wicked emboldens men in transgression, but their punishment is nonetheless
certain and terrible because it is long delayed. "The Lord shall rise up as in Mount
Perazim, He shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His
strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act." Isaiah 28:21. To our
merciful God the act of punishment is a strange act. "As I live, saith the Lord God,
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." Ezekiel 33:11. The Lord is
"merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, . . .
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." Yet He will "by no means clear
the guilty." The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all
acquit the wicked." Exodus 34:6, 7; Nahum 1:3. By terrible things in righteousness He
will vindicate the authority of His downtrodden law. The severity of the retribution
awaiting the transgressor may be judged by the Lord's reluctance to execute justice. The
nation with which He bears long, and which He will not smite until it has filled up the
measure of its iniquity in God's account, will finally drink the cup of wrath unmixed with
mercy.

When Christ ceases His
intercession in the sanctuary, the unmingled wrath threatened against those who worship
the beast and his image and receive his mark (Revelation 14:9, 10), will be poured out.
The plagues upon Egypt when God was about to deliver Israel were similar in character to
those more terrible and extensive judgments which are to fall upon the world just before
the final deliverance of God's people. Says the revelator, in describing those terrific
scourges: "There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of
the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image." The sea "became as the
blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea." And "the rivers and
fountains of waters . . . became blood." Terrible as these inflictions are, God's
justice stands fully vindicated. The angel of God declares: "Thou art righteous, O
Lord, . . . because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and
prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy." Revelation
16:2-6. By condemning the people of God to death, they have as truly incurred the guilt of
their blood as if it had been shed by their hands. In like manner Christ declared the Jews
of His time guilty of all the blood of holy men which had been shed since the days of
Abel; for they possessed the same spirit and were seeking to do the same work with these
murderers of the prophets.

In the plague that follows,
power is given to the sun "to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great
heat." Verses 8, 9. The prophets thus describe the condition of the earth at this
fearful time: "The land mourneth; . . . because the harvest of the field is perished.
. . . All the trees of the field are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons
of men." "The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate. .
. . How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no
pasture. . . . The rivers of water are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures
of the wilderness." "The songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day,
saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them
forth with silence." Joel 1:10-12, 17-20; Amos 8:3.

These plagues are not
universal, or the inhabitants of the earth would be wholly cut off. Yet they will be the
most awful scourges that have ever been known to mortals. All the judgments upon men,
prior to the close of probation, have been mingled with mercy. The pleading blood of
Christ has shielded the sinner from receiving the full measure of his guilt; but in the
final judgment, wrath is poured out unmixed with mercy.

In that day, multitudes will
desire the shelter of God's mercy which they have so long despised. "Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from
sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the
word of the Lord, and shall not find it." Amos 8:11, 12.

Bread Shall Be
Given Him; His Waters Shall Be Sure

The people of God will not be free from
suffering; but while persecuted and distressed, while they endure privation and suffer for
want of food they will not be left to perish. That God who cared for Elijah will not pass
by one of His self-sacrificing children. He who numbers the hairs of their head will care
for them, and in time of famine they shall be satisfied. While the wicked are dying from
hunger and pestilence, angels will shield the righteous and supply their wants. To him
that "walketh righteously" is the promise: "Bread shall be given him; his
waters shall be sure." "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none,
and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will
not forsake them." Isaiah 33:15, 16; 41:17.

"Although the fig tree
shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail,
and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there
shall be no herd in the stalls;" yet shall they that fear Him "rejoice in the
Lord" and joy in the God of their salvation. Habakkuk 3:17, 18.

"The Lord is thy keeper:
the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the
moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy
soul." "He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome
pestilence. He shall cover thee with His fathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust:
His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by
night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in
darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy
side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine
eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord,
which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee,
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." Psalms 121:5-7; 91:3-10.

Yet to human sight it will
appear that the people of God must soon seal their testimony with their blood as did the
martyrs before them. They themselves begin to fear that the Lord has left them to fall by
the hand of their enemies. It is a time of fearful agony. Day and night they cry unto God
for deliverance. The wicked exult, and the jeering cry is heard: "Where now is your
faith? Why does not God deliver you out of our hands if you are indeed His people?"
But the waiting ones remember Jesus dying upon Calvary's cross and the chief priests and
rulers shouting in mockery: "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the
King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him."
Matthew 27:42. Like Jacob, all are wrestling with God. Their countenances express their
internal struggle. Paleness sits upon every face. Yet they cease not their earnest
intercession.

The People Of God
Must Drink Of The Cup

And Be Baptized
With The Baptism

Could men see with heavenly vision, they
would behold companies of angels that excel in strength stationed about those who have
kept the word of Christ's patience. With sympathizing tenderness, angels have witnessed
their distress and have heard their prayers. They are waiting the word of their Commander
to snatch them from their peril. But they must wait yet a little longer. The people of God
must drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism. The very delay, so painful to
them, is the best answer to their petitions. As they endeavor to wait trustingly for the
Lord to work they are led to exercise faith, hope, and patience, which have been too
little exercised during their religious experience. Yet for the elect's sake the time of
trouble will be shortened. "Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and
night unto Him? . . . I tell you that He will avenge them speedily." Luke 18:7, 8.
The end will come more quickly than men expect. The wheat will be gathered and bound in
sheaves for the garner of God; the tares will be bound as fagots for the fires of
destruction.

The heavenly sentinels,
faithful to their trust, continue their watch. Though a general decree has fixed the time
when commandment keepers may be put to death, their enemies will in some cases anticipate
the decree, and before the time specified, will endeavor to take their lives. But none can
pass the mighty guardians stationed about every faithful soul. Some are assailed in their
flight from the cities and villages; but the swords raised against them break and fall
powerless as a straw. Others are defended by angels in the form of men of war.

In all ages, God has wrought
through holy angels for the succor and deliverance of His people. Celestial beings have
taken an active part in the affairs of men. They have appeared clothed in garments that
shone as the lightning; they have come as men in the garb of wayfarers. Angels have
appeared in human form to men of God. They have rested, as if weary, under the oaks at
noon. They have accepted the hospitalities of human homes. They have acted as guides to
benighted travelers. They have, with their own hands, kindled the fires at the altar. They
have opened prison doors and set free the servants of the Lord. Clothed with the panoply
of heaven, they came to roll away the stone from the Saviour's tomb.

In the form of men, angels
are often in the assemblies of the righteous; and they visit the assemblies of the wicked,
as they went to Sodom, to make a record of their deeds, to determine whether they have
passed the boundary of God's forbearance. The Lord delights in mercy; and for the sake of
a few who really serve Him, He restrains calamities and prolongs the tranquillity of
multitudes. Little do sinners against God realize that they are indebted for their own
lives to the faithful few whom they delight to ridicule and oppress.

Though the rulers of this
world know it not, yet often in their councils angels have been spokesmen. Human eyes have
looked upon them; human ears have listened to their appeals; human lips have opposed their
suggestions and ridiculed their counsels; human hands have met them with insult and abuse.
In the council hall and the court of justice these heavenly messengers have shown an
intimate acquaintance with human history; they have proved themselves better able to plead
the cause of the oppressed than were their ablest and most eloquent defenders. They have
defeated purposes and arrested evils that would have greatly retarded the work of God and
would have caused great suffering to His people. In the hour of peril and distress
"the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth
them." Psalm 34:7.

The Sun Of
Righteousness Is About To Shine Forth

With earnest longing, God's people await
the tokens of their coming King. As the watchmen are accosted, "What of the
night?" the answer is given unfalteringly, "The morning cometh, and also the
night.' Isaiah 21:11, 12. Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountaintops. Soon
there will be a revealing of His glory. The Sun of Righteousness is about to shine forth.
The morning and the night are both at hand--the opening of endless day to the righteous,
the settling down of eternal night to the wicked."

As the wrestling ones urge
their petitions before God, the veil separating them from the unseen seems almost
withdrawn. The heavens glow with the dawning of eternal day, and like the melody of angel
songs the words fall upon ear: "Stand fast to your allegiance. Help is coming."
Christ, the almighty Victor, holds out to His weary soldiers a crown of immortal glory;
and His voice comes from the gates ajar: "Lo, I am with you. Be not afraid. I am
acquainted with all your sorrows; I have borne your griefs. You are not warring against
untried enemies. I have fought the battle in your behalf, and in My name you are more than
conquerors."

The precious Saviour will
send help just when we need it. The way to heaven is consecrated by His footprints. Every
thorn that wounds our feet has wounded His. Every cross that we are called to bear He has
borne before us. The Lord permits conflicts, to prepare the soul for peace. The time of
trouble is a fearful ordeal for God's people; but it is the time for every true believer
to look up, and by faith he may see the bow of promise encircling him.

"The redeemed of the
Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon
their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man
that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the
Lord thy Maker; . . . and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the
oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? The
captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor
that his bread should fail. But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves
roared: The Lord of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have
covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand." Isaiah 51:11-16.

"Therefore hear now
this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and
thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the
cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of My fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:
but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul,
Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the
street, to them that went over." Verses 21-23.

Glorious Will Be
The Deliverance Of Those Who Have Patiently Waited For His Coming And Whose Names Are
Written In The Book Of Life

The eye of God, looking down the ages, was
fixed upon the crisis which His people are to meet, when earthly powers shall be arrayed
against them. Like the captive exile, they will be in fear of death by starvation or by
violence. But the Holy One who divided the Red Sea before Israel, will manifest His mighty
power and turn their captivity. "They shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that
day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that
serveth him." Malachi 3:17. If the blood of Christ's faithful witnesses were shed at
this time, it would not, like the blood of the martyrs, be as seed sown to yield a harvest
for God. Their fidelity would not be a testimony to convince others of the truth; for the
obdurate heart has beaten back the waves of mercy until they return no more. If the
righteous were now left to fall a prey to their enemies, it would be a triumph for the
prince of darkness. Says the psalmist: "In the time of trouble He shall hide me in
His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me." Psalm 27:5. Christ
has spoken: "Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about
thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For,
behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their
iniquity." Isaiah 26:20, 21. Glorious will be the deliverance of those who have
patiently waited for His coming and whose names are written in the book of life.